314 



MINE, 



History. A.y excavation made either in the rock strata, or in 

 '"Y"'"' the earth which generally covers the rock, of which 

 there are three distinct kinds, viz. 



\st, A mine employed in the art of war, particular* 

 ly in sieges. 



2d, A mine made for the working of veins contain- 

 ing the ores of metali ; which veins are generally in a 

 position nearly vertical. 



3d, A mine for the working of such minerals as ge- 

 nerally lie in beds, having a moderate angle of inclina- 

 tion with the horizon, such as a coal-mine, an ironstone- 

 mine, or limestone mine. 



The first kind of mine will be found described in 

 the article FORTIFICATION, vol. ix. p. 51 1, 512, 516. 



The second kind will be described under the article 

 VEIN. 



The third kind, in particular the working of coal- 

 mines, will be now described. 



Coil Mines. Although mineral coal is found abundantly in va- 

 rious quarters of the globe, as noticed under the arti- 

 cle COAL, it is admitted that the most valuable fields of 

 it are found in Great Britain, and have been wrought 

 to a much greater extent there than in any other part 

 of the world. 



As nothing but pit-cool is Used as fuel for domestic 

 purposes in Great Britain, excepting in a few of the 

 inland districts, where a small quantity of wood and 

 turf are substituted ; and as all the numerous and ex- 

 tensive iron-worki. with the innumerable steam-en- 

 gines and manufactories, depend entirely upon a regu- 

 lar supply of coal, at a moderate price, the working of 

 the coal-fields, in a systematic and economical manner, 

 has been much studied, and brought to greater per- 

 fection in Britain than in any other country. 



Coal, as an inflammable substance, appears to have 

 been known to the ancients, and to the Britons, before 

 the Romans visited this island, it being found so fre- 

 quently in ravines and beds of rivers, of a colour and 

 texture so decidedly different from the strata which in 

 general accompany it ; but as, at that period, and for 

 centuries afterwards, the country was covered with im- 

 mense forests, which supplied abundance of fuel for 

 every purpose of life, there was no necessity for using 

 coal as fuel. 



The working of coal, therefore, only became an ob- 

 ject of attention as population and civilization advanc- 

 ed, when agriculture began to be studied, the woods 

 cleared away, and the arts of civil life cultivated ; ac- 

 cordingly we find, that the working of coal in Britain, 

 as an article of commerce, is comparatively of modern 

 date, and appears to have commenced about the end 

 of the 12th century. The first charter giving liberty to 

 the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to dig coal, was 

 granted by Henry III. anno 1239 ; it was then deno- 

 minated Sea-coal, on account of its being shipped for 

 places at a distance. In the year 1281, the Newcastle 

 coal-trade had become so extensive and important that 

 laws were enacted for its regulation. 



In Scotland, coals began to be wrought much about 

 the same time ; and a charter was granted in the year 

 1291, in favour of the Abbot and convent of Dunferm- 

 line in the county of Fife, giving the right of digging 

 coals in the lands of Pittencrieff, adjoining the convent. 



From this period the working of coal gradually in- History, 

 creased, though on a very limited scale, until the be- > Y 

 ginning of the last century, when the steam-engine 

 was brought forward by Newcomen in the year 1705, 

 and was applied to collieries in the vicinity of New- 

 castle about the year 1715. This machine produced a 

 new era in the mining concerns of Great Britain, and, 

 as it were in an instant, put every coal-field within the 

 grasp of its owner. Collieries were opened in every 

 quarter; and the coal trade rapidly extended to an 

 astonishing scale. This extension of the trade was 

 greatly aided by the genius of the late James Watt, 

 Esq. of Glasgow, whose philosophic mind made the 

 most brilliant discoveries, and so very much improved 

 the principles and power of the steam-engine, as to 

 render it one of the most complete and most useful 

 pieces of mechanism. To Newcomen and Watt the 

 mining interest of Great Britain is highly indebted ; to 

 the latter, the empire owes its great rise and improve- 

 ment as a manufacturing country. 



The collieries of Great Britain are now upon the 

 most extensive scale, and are of the first importance to 

 the kingdom, both as regarding its political and com- 

 mercial interests ; so much so, that it is evident, with- 

 out cheap coal, the manufactories of Great Britain could 

 not be brought forward in competition with those of 

 the other nations of the world, where manual labour is 

 comparatively very low ; in short, the coal-mines of 

 Great Britain form a physical and prominent point in 

 the political state of the empire. The capitals em- 

 ployed in the collieries, and in the shipping connected 

 with them, are immense, amounting to many millions. 

 A very considerable proportion of the population of 

 the kingdom is employed in the mines and coal trade, 

 while the ships which carry coals coastwise, are a nur- 

 sery for thousands of the most intrepid seamen which 

 are to be found in the world. 



It cannot easily be estimated what is the total pro- 

 duce of coals in Britain, but it must extend to many 

 millions of tons ; for it is known that the output of 

 coal upon the rivers Tyne and Wear, in the counties 

 of Northumberland and Durham, amounts to three 

 millions of tons annually, of which only a small quan- 

 tity is used in the district, the greater part being ship- 

 ped coastwise. In these two districts alone, it is esti- 

 mated that 70,000 people are employed in the coal 

 trade, and that the capital invested in the collieries 

 and shipping is above two millions and a half of mo- 

 ney. 



Witk regard to the formation of coal, many theories 

 have been brought forward ; but although these dis- 

 play no common share of genius and patient investi- 

 gation, they have hitherto led to nothing conclusive or 

 satisfactory on the subject. The object in this treatise 

 is, to give a distinct view of the geological situation of 

 coal fields, their absolute forms, the dislocations and 

 troubles which occur m them, and the method of work- 

 ing coal mines. 



The great coal-field of Britain, which is composed of Extent o/ 

 numerous subordinate coal-fields, crosses the island in th British 

 a diagonal direction, the south boundary line extending coal-field, 

 from near the mouth of the river Humber, upon the 

 east coast of England, to the south part of the Bristol 



